Helicopters in Avatar film - thoughts?
Thread Starter
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 327
Likes: 40
From: Melbourne, Australia
Helicopters in Avatar film - thoughts?
I watched Avatar on the weekend and it featured futuristic helicopters and other VTOL aircraft. The helicopters were like tilt rotors except that the blades were ducted. As with Hollywood tradition, most of the time they sounded like Hueys.
But they were great looking machines that came in three different sizes, a cross between an Apache and an Osprey, one with a wider cabin a la EC-130 and a larger 4-rotor cargo / assault version. They also had V tails.
I was wondering if you'd like to discuss their designs. As I understand it, the ducted rotors are nowhere efficient as an unducted rotor system. But if the ducts / rotors were large enough, would it work?
Andrew.
But they were great looking machines that came in three different sizes, a cross between an Apache and an Osprey, one with a wider cabin a la EC-130 and a larger 4-rotor cargo / assault version. They also had V tails.
I was wondering if you'd like to discuss their designs. As I understand it, the ducted rotors are nowhere efficient as an unducted rotor system. But if the ducts / rotors were large enough, would it work?
Andrew.
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 418
Likes: 17
From: Australia
Imagination coming to life - making us think about different concepts - BRING IT ON!!!! 
The ducted fans would work if the speed was there, and no vorticy loss. I've worked with Ducted Fan aircraft before - they work well. The British used them for Police Patrol Survelance Aircraft.
V-Tail has worked well too with the Beechcraft Bonanza Aircraft, and starting to come back in on new design aircraft. I think the new Cirrus fixed wing Jet, or the new Eclipse Jet now has V-Tail as concept.
My view - choppers were really cool in Avatar!
The ducted fans would work if the speed was there, and no vorticy loss. I've worked with Ducted Fan aircraft before - they work well. The British used them for Police Patrol Survelance Aircraft.
V-Tail has worked well too with the Beechcraft Bonanza Aircraft, and starting to come back in on new design aircraft. I think the new Cirrus fixed wing Jet, or the new Eclipse Jet now has V-Tail as concept.
My view - choppers were really cool in Avatar!
Joined: Oct 2002
Posts: 1,796
Likes: 1
From: 1 Dunghill Mansions, Putney
Previous [real world] projects of relevance/interest include...
Doak VZ-4/Model 16
Nord 500
Bell X-22A
I/C
Doak VZ-4/Model 16
Nord 500
Bell X-22A
I/C
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 1,067
Likes: 40
From: On the big blue planet
Using Huey noise isn't stupid on the part of film-makers, it's smart - it's the coolest helicopter noise known to man...
Or a decaying NR for landing....
skadi
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 368
Likes: 21
From: I am not sure where we are, but at least it is getting dark
i found the choppers pretty cool, too.
Just wondering how a design like that (assuming no cyclic pitch control on the rotors) would cope with fore/aft centre of gravity changes though!
Just wondering how a design like that (assuming no cyclic pitch control on the rotors) would cope with fore/aft centre of gravity changes though!
Joined: Nov 2006
Posts: 1,951
Likes: 90
From: After all, what’s more important than proving to someone on the internet that they’re wrong? - Manson
Hey, its the movies.....................
Build whatever you want and just change the atmosphere, gravity, and magnetic fields as required, to suit, so it works.
Build whatever you want and just change the atmosphere, gravity, and magnetic fields as required, to suit, so it works.
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 852
Likes: 3
From: Brum
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 413
Likes: 0
From: leicester
Helicopters on the Avatar Film
These look like a very viable design to me...
4 sets of rotors each in a shrouded nacelle. Counter rotating, no need for a tail rotor, all engine power going to lift.
Any reasons why we haven't seen this sort of thing in reality? Almost a 4 rotor kmax???
MADY
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 1,669
Likes: 5
From: uk
When I watched the movie, I saw these helicopter type things and thought oh, here we go, bet they don't even look like they'd fly, but to be honest, I was impressed as even when they come in to land, you see changing thrust direction and were nearly even believable.
Mind you, I did fancy the Avatar type bird too!
Mind you, I did fancy the Avatar type bird too!
Joined: Sep 2002
Aviation Qualifications: CPL
Posts: 4,722
Likes: 637
From: Great South East, tired and retired
You see how fast those things swivelled?
Think about: inertia of blades, precession, bearings required to fight such precession, hydraulic actuators needed to fight such precession, hydraulic pumps to move large amount of fluid in short swivelly time.
The shrouds around the blades were darned thick, would interfere somewhat with angled airflow.
But what the heck, it was a reasonable film.
Think about: inertia of blades, precession, bearings required to fight such precession, hydraulic actuators needed to fight such precession, hydraulic pumps to move large amount of fluid in short swivelly time.
The shrouds around the blades were darned thick, would interfere somewhat with angled airflow.
But what the heck, it was a reasonable film.
